Cleanlinesshttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/cleanliness
en-usTue, 03 Mar 2015 18:13:32 -0500Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:13:32 -0500The latest news on Cleanliness from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/antibacterial-soap-may-be-making-you-sick-2014-4Washing With Antibacterial Soap May Actually Make You More Likely To Get Sickhttp://www.businessinsider.com/antibacterial-soap-may-be-making-you-sick-2014-4
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 14:53:58 -0400Beth Mole
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4de8084ccadcbb0c131b0000-400-/Screen-shot-2011-06-02-at-6.01.03-PM.jpg" border="0" alt="washing hands" width="400" /></p><p></p>
<p>Sneezing out antimicrobial snot may sound like a superpower, but it actually could be a handicap.</p>
<p>Triclosan, an omnipresent antimicrobial compound found in products ranging from soaps and toothpaste to medical equipment, is already known to show up in people's urine, serum and breast milk. It seeps in through ingestion or skin exposure. Now, researchers have found that it gets into snot, too. And in the schnoz, triclosan seems to help the disease-causing bacteria <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> instead of killing the microbes.</p>
<p>Microbiologist Blaise Boles, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues swabbed the noses of 90 adults and found that having triclosan-containing snot could double a person's likelihood of carrying staph. The microbes may have adapted to triclosan, allowing them to remain steadfast in the nose. The <a href="http://mbio.asm.org/content/5/2/e01015-13" target="_blank">results appeared</a> April 8 in <em>mBio</em>.</p>
<p>Because triclosan usually kills bacteria, the finding was a surprise, says Boles, who works to understand why only some people harbor staph. A person carrying the microbe in his or her nose, he says, has a much higher risk of a staph infection, which can occur in the skin and blood and cause pneumonia and produce toxic shock syndrome.</p>
<p>In the study, 37 people, or 41 percent, had detectable levels of triclosan in their nasal secretions. Of the people that had very little or no antimicrobial compound in their snot, 27 to 32 percent had staph in their nostrils. This fraction fits with previous studies, which have found that staphcolonizes about 30 percent of the general population. But of the people with higher levels of triclosan, 64 percent carried staph.</p>
<p>The researchers found a similar link in rat experiments. They used a breed of rat known to take about a week to shake off a mild nasal invasion by staph. When the researchers gave the rats triclosan-laced food and stuck a small batch of staph in the rodents' noses, the rats could not get rid of the microbes.</p>
<p>In the lab, the researchers found that staph grown with nonlethal doses of triclosan were more "sticky," attaching better to human proteins, as well as to glass and plastic surfaces. Nonlethal doses of triclosan in snot could help staph hunker down in the nose, giving it an advantage over other nose-dwelling microbes, Boles says.</p>
<p>Microbiologist Hanne Ingmer of the University of Copenhagen says the finding has troubling implications for public health. Triclosan, she adds, could provide footholds for the most worrisome forms of staph, such as methicillin-resistant <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> or MRSA.</p>
<p>While health experts have focused on the misuse of antibiotics, which can spur microbes to become drug resistant, the uses of triclosan and similar compounds in personal care products "are almost an uncontrolled area," she says.</p>
<p>And unlike with antibiotics, Boles adds, using triclosan to kill off microbes may not even work well. "There's no indication that it's doing a better job than soap and water," he says.</p>
<p>The Food and Drug Administration <a href="http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm378393.htm" target="_blank">has asked</a> companies to provide evidence that adding triclosan to soaps is safe and effective.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-happiness-affects-your-health-2014-4" >How Happiness Affects Your Health</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/antibacterial-soap-may-be-making-you-sick-2014-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/how-messiness-can-make-you-more-creative-2014-4How Messiness Can Make You More Creativehttp://www.businessinsider.com/how-messiness-can-make-you-more-creative-2014-4
Wed, 16 Apr 2014 10:41:00 -0400The Build Network
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/534e948a6bb3f79b2024be64-480-/messy-desk-8.jpg" border="0" alt="messy desk" width="480" /></p><p>There&rsquo;s a general assumption &mdash; in homes, in workplaces &mdash; that neatness corresponds to productivity.</p>
<p>It begins in elementary school, with the annual rite of buying school supplies.&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">You have the intent of staying organized, subject by subject, throughout the year.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In adulthood, the habit continues. Every December, you buy an annual planner or calendar. It&rsquo;s as if you&rsquo;re buying a fresh white set of intentions. Moleskine notebooks beckon dreamers at every register.</span></p>
<p>As it happens, the fine art of getting organized is an official profession, with formal certifications, a code of ethics, and an official industry group (<a href="http://www.napo.net/" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">the National Association of Professional Organizers, or NAPO</a>, 4,000 members strong).</p>
<p>And that&rsquo;s just the beginning.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wired.com/2013/03/moleskine-us-store/" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">Moleskin, for its part, is a highly profitable luxury brand</a>. The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-01/container-store-cleans-up-after-ipo-party" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">Container Store, beloved by organizers everywhere, had an IPO last year</a>&nbsp;and boasts&nbsp;<a href="http://investor.containerstore.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2014/The-Container-Store-Group-Inc-Announces-Third-Quarter-Fiscal-2013-Financial-Results/default.aspx" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">$532 million</a>&nbsp;in year-to-date sales.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.baronfig.com/ourstory/" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">Baron Fig,</a>&nbsp;a notebook-maker based in New York City, raised $168,000 on Kickstarter not long ago &mdash; roughly 11 times more than it was targeting, according to cofounder Adam Kornfield.</p>
<p>And all that is just a yellow brick in the road of America&rsquo;s $4.3 billion stationery industry.&nbsp;Clearly, consumers are still paying for the tools of neatness and organization.</p>
<p>Yet it&rsquo;s possible &mdash; and even demonstrable &mdash; that you&rsquo;ll be more creative if your work space is disorganized and messy.</p>
<h3>The Argument for Messiness</h3>
<p>Last week, at the&nbsp;<a href="http://som.yale.edu/art-mind-and-markets-conference" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">Yale School of Management&rsquo;s Art, Mind + Markets</a>&nbsp;conference,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/faculty-research/facultyPM.aspx?x500=vohsx005" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">Kathleen Vohs,</a>&nbsp;a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota with an extensive psychology background, gave a talk called &ldquo;Effect of Visual Order on Creativity.&rdquo; Her main point &mdash; which she and her colleagues have demonstrated in experiment after experiment &mdash; is that you get a creativity boost when you work in a messy space.</p>
<p>Last year, she described her work&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/opinion/sunday/its-not-mess-its-creativity.html" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">in the<em>&nbsp;New York Times</em></a>. In one experiment, she assigned 48 individuals to messy or neat rooms, and asked them &ldquo;to imagine that a Ping-Pong ball factory needed to think of new uses for Ping-Pong balls, and to write down as many ideas as they could.&rdquo; Independent judges rated the answers for creativity. Here&rsquo;s what happened:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When we analyzed the responses, we found that the subjects in both types of rooms came up with about the same number of ideas, which meant they put about the same effort into the task. Nonetheless, the messy room subjects were more creative, as we expected. Not only were their ideas 28 percent more creative on average, but when we analyzed the ideas that judges scored as &ldquo;highly creative,&rdquo; we found a remarkable boost from being in the messy room &mdash; these subjects came up with almost five times the number of highly creative responses as did their tidy-room counterparts.</p>
<p>(These results have been confirmed by independent researchers at Northwestern University, who found that subjects in a messy room drew more creative pictures and were quicker to solve a challenging brainteaser puzzle than subjects in a tidy room.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Comparable results &mdash; wherein individuals in messy room were more creative than those in neat rooms &mdash; have occurred again and again in Vohs&rsquo; research.</p>
<h3>What This Means for Businesses</h3>
<p>Does this mean that neatness has no use in the contemporary workplace, which venerates innovation and disruptive thinking above all else?</p>
<p>Of course not. The key takeaway here is that messy spaces have their place in work settings, while neat ones have theirs. At the Yale conference, I asked Vohs to speculate about how her research might apply to business settings. She agreed that a setting with visual disorder might facilitate&nbsp;<a href="http://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/hate-brainstorming-start-solving-problems-like-ants.html" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">brainstorming</a>, while an orderly setting might be better for a fast meeting where an immediate decision is required.</p>
<p>Mind you, Vohs&rsquo; research has to do with individuals, rather than teams. Is it not possible that a group dynamic would produce different outcomes? Vohs doesn&rsquo;t think so, but admits that this is only her informed speculation. &ldquo;I would say that what happens in people should happen in groups, but that&rsquo;s just a prediction,&rdquo; she noted in a follow-up email after the conference.</p>
<p>I asked NAPO for its thoughts on a Vohs&rsquo; research, which quite thoroughly demonstrates that a messy office space spurs more creativity than a neat one. They pointed out that organizing isn&rsquo;t necessarily about neatness as a one-size-fits-all solution; that it&rsquo;s more about pleasing clients, and helping them structure their work spaces to achieve their desired outcomes. If creativity is the desired outcome, then an organizer will not be averse to devising a &ldquo;messy&rdquo; office space that provides some visual stimulation.</p>
<p>By contrast, if efficiency is the goal, then traditional neatness might be more appropriate.&nbsp;&rdquo;For example, if the client&rsquo;s goal is to improve on-time delivery of recurring financial reports, and the client sees this as a structured task with an established process &mdash; then maybe a very cluttered workspace with random piles of reports makes it more difficult to find the information needed without digging,&rdquo; observes NAPO board member&nbsp;<a href="http://www.impactorganizing.com/KateSBrownBiography.html" target="_blank" data-ls-seen="1">Kate Brown,</a>&nbsp;owner of Impact Organizing in Sarasota, Fla.</p>
<p>She adds, &ldquo;Vohs&rsquo; study abstract concludes that, &lsquo;&hellip;different environments suit different outcomes.&rsquo; I think most NAPO members would agree with that statement.&rdquo;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-work-meditation-into-your-day-2014-4" >3 Ways To Work Meditation Into Your Busy Day</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-messiness-can-make-you-more-creative-2014-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/use-cold-water-to-wash-your-hands-2014-1Using Hot Water To Wash Your Hands Is 'Unnecessary And Wasteful'http://www.businessinsider.com/use-cold-water-to-wash-your-hands-2014-1
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 17:51:39 -0500Doug Powell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52d440d26bb3f79e0e66520a-480-/little-boy-child-in-bathtub-soapy-shampoo-hair-hands-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Little Boy Child In Bathtub Soapy Shampoo Hair Hands" width="480" /></p><p>We&rsquo;ve said for a decade hot water is not a factor in reducing microbial loads during handwashing. Friend of the blog Don Schaffner at Rutgers agrees.</p>
<p>And now, so do researchers at Tennessee&rsquo;s Vanderbilt University.</p>
<p>We admit, warm water is often a preference, but scientifically, it does not lower microbial loads.</p>
<p>And we all want to be evidence-based.</p>
<p>As reported in the <a href="http://www.europeancleaningjournal.com/magazine/articles/latest-news/hot-water-is-unnecessary-and-wasteful-for-hand-washing-study">European Cleaning Journal</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Using hot water for hand washing is unnecessary while potentially being harmful for the environment, but nearly 70 per cent of Americans believe hot water to be more effective than cold or warm water &ndash; despite having no evidence to back this up.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">According to research assistant professor Amanda Carrico: &ldquo;It is certainly true that heat kills bacteria, but if you were to use hot water to kill them it would have to be way too hot for you to tolerate.&rdquo;</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">She explains that pathogens can be killed by water at temperatures of 99.98&deg;C &ndash; but hot water for hand washing is generally between 40&deg;C to 55&deg;C, and even at these temperatures the sustained heat required to kill some pathogens would scald the skin.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Carrico&rsquo;s team found water as cold as 4.4&deg;C to be just as effective at reducing bacteria as hot water if the hands were scrubbed, rinsed and dried properly. And they noted that hot water could even have an adverse effect on hygiene. &ldquo;Warmer water can irritate the skin and affect the protective layer on the outside, which can cause it to be less resistant to bacteria,&rdquo; said Carrico.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">And she adds that no water temperature is specified in official guidelines from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention nor the World Health Organization, which simply recommend using soap and water and scrubbing vigorously for at least 20 seconds followed by a thorough dry.</p>
<p>Now, about that 20 seconds &hellip;<img class="full" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/52e6e147eab8ea295f9b1f04-1200-1715/handwash_infosht-2-7-08-copy.jpg" border="0" alt="Handwashing Infographic" width="800" /></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nightmare-bacteria-infections-are-on-the-rise-2013-3" >'Nightmare Bacteria' Kills Up To Half Of Infected Patients</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/people-dont-wash-their-hands-right-2013-6" >95% Of People Don't Wash Their Hands Correctly After Using The Bathroom</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/use-cold-water-to-wash-your-hands-2014-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/antibacterial-hand-sanitizers-vs-soap-2014-1Washing With Plain Soap Is Better Than Fancy Antibacterial Soaphttp://www.businessinsider.com/antibacterial-hand-sanitizers-vs-soap-2014-1
Mon, 13 Jan 2014 14:41:00 -0500Trent Yarwood
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/52d440c3eab8ea8764b245a3-909-681/little-boy-child-in-bathtub-soapy-shampoo-hair-hands.jpg" border="0" alt="Little Boy Child In Bathtub Soapy Shampoo Hair Hands" /></p><p>I should start by saying that an important part of my job is encouraging hospital staff to&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_washing">clean their hands</a>. The World Health Organisation has a global patient safety campaign reminding us that&nbsp;<a href="http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/EN_PSP_GPSC1_5May_2013/en/index.html">Clean Hands SAVE LIVES</a>, and in-hospital hand hygiene is&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/Basics.html">universally</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hha.org.au/home.aspx">recognised</a>&nbsp;as one of the most important ways of reducing healthcare-associated infection.</p>
<p>Most of you don&rsquo;t live in a hospital, though. So what about at home? Little bottles of hand gel are appearing in more and more places every day. Is this a good idea or just part of a societal &ldquo;<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1446148/">germ panic</a>&rdquo;?</p>
<p>There are three groups of products to consider: alcohol-based&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_sanitizer">hand sanitisers</a>, antibacterial soaps and other antibacterial products.</p>
<h2>Hand sanitisers</h2>
<p>These are usually alcohol-based and are&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hha.org.au/About/ABHRS.aspx">highly effective</a>&nbsp;at cleaning hands. They are the&nbsp;<em>preferred</em>&nbsp;method in hospital because they are also fast and convenient &ndash; and this increases the likelihood they will be used.</p>
<p>Hand sanitisers kill most bacteria and fungi as well as many viruses (norovirus, a common viral gastroenteritis, is a weakness) and work without water. We have a bottle in our nappy bag for that inconvenient pit stop.</p>
<h2>Antibacterial soaps</h2>
<p>Unlike the alcohol gels, these usually contain a&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinfectant">disinfectant</a>&nbsp;&mdash; such as&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triclosan">triclosan</a>&nbsp;&mdash; or a&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternary_ammonium_compound">quaternary ammonium compound</a>.</p>
<p>Antibacterial soaps have come in for a bit of a bashing in&nbsp;<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/antibacterial-soaps-arent-more-effective-and-may-be-dangerous-says-us-fda-20131217-2zi7c.html">recent media</a>&nbsp;reports, based on the US&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fda.gov/default.htm">Food and Drug Administration</a>&nbsp;releasing a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm378542.htm">press statement</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm378393.htm">consumer notice</a>&nbsp;announcing plans to require makers of these products to prove that they work.</p>
<h2>All the rest</h2>
<p>It seems that it&rsquo;s a great way to market your product by saying it&rsquo;s &ldquo;germ resistant&rdquo;. This is the sales pitch for everything from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com.au/search?q=antibacterial+chopping+board">chopping boards</a>&nbsp;to children&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/news2/hasbro.antibacterial.html">toys</a>&nbsp;and even&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Croydex-Anti-Bacterial-Toilet-Close-Hinges/dp/B001DYPTGW">toilet seats</a>.</p>
<h2>Are they safe?</h2>
<p>By and large at an individual level, yes, they are. Alcohol-based hand rubs are&nbsp;<a href="http://www.who.int/gpsc/tools/faqs/abhr2/en/index.html">safe to use</a>. They&rsquo;re obviously not designed to drink and should be kept away from children, but pose no major health risks. Muslim health-care facilities&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68431-6">have adopted their use</a>, despite alcohol being&nbsp;<em>haram</em>&nbsp;in Islamic faith.</p>
<p>All hand-hygiene activities take oils from your skin and increase the chance of dry hands or dermatitis, but hand rubs are better from this perspective than soap-and-water hand washing.</p>
<p>Triclosan has received&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/02/triclosan-safety-antibacterial-soap-safe-fda_n_3202847.html">media attention</a>&nbsp;because of concerns about thyroid hormone metabolism in animal models, but has not been&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22197412">shown to cause</a>&nbsp;these effects in humans. There are concerns about its role as an&nbsp;<a href="http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/factsheets/triclosan_fs.htm">environmental contaminant</a>&nbsp;as it is found in waste water from sewerage, but also as a residue from industrial processes (the manufacture of those antibacterial plastics). Although, again, there is not conclusive proof of harm.</p>
<p>Of concern to people like me, however, is the risk of&nbsp;<a href="http://theconversation.com/superbugs-human-ecology-and-the-threat-from-within-10765">antimicrobial resistance</a>. If germs in the community are exposed to these products, could we be creating more resistant germs that will cause us problems down the track?</p>
<p>Because hand rubs kill germs by direct action of the alcohol against the germs, there is no risk of resistance. The question is not so clear for the soaps, though.</p>
<p>In the hospital setting, we know triclosan is a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10433670">good antimicrobial hand wash</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HI04065.htm">can be effective</a>&nbsp;at reducing rates of hospital superbugs.</p>
<p>But hospital-grade triclosan (1%) is a far cry from the concentration in most over-the-counter liquid soaps. A&nbsp;<a href="http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/Supplement_2/S137.long">review in 2007</a>&nbsp;found no additional benefit to these products and identified risks for resistance.</p>
<p>Any microbiologist will tell you that prolonged exposure of bugs to low concentrations of antimicrobials is the textbook way of breeding resistance.</p>
<h2>Are they necessary?</h2>
<p>So, does the average house and family need to armour up in the war against germs?</p>
<p>I have to say probably not.</p>
<p>Good hygiene is important in preventing disease &mdash; and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/12/52">hand washing</a>&nbsp;is part of that (along with&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/cough-and-sneeze-into-elbows-not-hands-13152">cough etiquette</a>, staying home when sick, and so on). But the benefits of these products over soap and water (apart from the portability of gels) have not been shown outside the hospital setting.</p>
<p>Antibacterial chopping boards won&rsquo;t stop you from getting sick if you don&rsquo;t practice good&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-leave-leftovers-to-cool-before-refrigerating-6114">food-handling</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-the-three-second-rule-when-food-falls-on-the-floor-6100">techniques</a>&nbsp;and antibacterial toilet seats do not add to (or replace) washing your hands when you&rsquo;re done.</p>
<p>And those antibacterial baby toys? Babies put their hand from the toy straight onto the floor, onto the cat or any of a dozen other non-antibacterial surfaces, so any effect is likely to be small (i.e. zero).</p>
<p>We do not &ndash; and cannot &ndash; live in a germ-free world. Spending money on these products doesn&rsquo;t guarantee you won&rsquo;t get sick (of course they can&rsquo;t) and probably don&rsquo;t even&nbsp;<em>reduce&nbsp;</em>your risk of getting sick. But they might contribute to bacterial resistance, and they certainly cost more.</p>
<p>Break the marketing cycle of germ panic and reach for the plain old soap.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fda-demands-proof-that-antibacterial-soaps-are-safe-2013-12" >FDA Questions The Use Of Antibacterial Soaps</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/germs-are-good-for-kids-2012-6" >Here's More Proof That Germs Are Good For Kids</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/antibacterial-hand-sanitizers-vs-soap-2014-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/world-toilet-day-sanitation-drive-2015-2013-11Why There Are So Many Toilets In Your Twitter Feed Todayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/world-toilet-day-sanitation-drive-2015-2013-11
Tue, 19 Nov 2013 14:08:00 -0500Jennifer Welsh
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/51bb3d66ecad04cd3e00000e-480-/cbgb-graffiti-toilet.jpg" border="0" alt="CBGB Graffiti toilet" width="480" /></p><p>Americans take their indoor plumbing for granted. But about 2.5 billion people worldwide (about 40% of the world) lack access to proper sanitation, like toilets, which can lead to deadly diseases.&nbsp;</p>
<p>You might think that toilet in the last grunge bar you visited was disgusting, but that's nothing to having to poop in a field every day.</p>
<p>That's why it's <a href="http://worldtoiletday.org/" target="_blank">World Toilet Day.</a></p>
<p>The United Nationals General Assembly and the Human Rights Council declared access to sanitation and clean drinking water a human right in 2010.</p>
<p>The Sanitation Drive 2015 aims to end the lack of toilets in the world. This lack of access to toilets (even to pit latrines) results in what's called "open defecation" &mdash; pooping in fields, forests, bushes, and bodies of water.</p>
<p>It sounds barbaric, but 1.1 billion people on Earth have no other choice. This practice leads to deadly cases of diarrhea that kill more kids than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined, <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/toiletday/pdf/Planners-Guide-Fact-Sheet-2_English.pdf" target="_blank">according to the UN [PDF].</a> When it doesn't kill, it keeps them out of school and makes them more likely to get other infections.</p>
<p>Not only does this practice spread disease and pollute environments and waterways, but it is also economically draining. Every dollar invested in sanitation development yields $5.50 in returns. For five reasons, <a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/toiletday/pdf/Planners-Guide-Fact-Sheet-2_English.pdf" target="_blank">according to the UN [PDF]</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>Toilets increase national gross domestic product (GDP)</li>
<li>Toilets represent a business opportunity</li>
<li>Toilets reduce health costs</li>
<li>Toilets make education investments go further</li>
<li>Toilets protect water &ndash; clean water generates wealth</li>
</ul>
<p>Toilets also keep girls in school longer, since currently many schools don't have private, separate facilities for girls and boys, which is a huge deal when women hit puberty and start menstruating.</p>
<p>Women are so embarrassed by openly defecating that they will sometimes wait until darkness to relieve themselves, which puts them at risk for sexual assault and rape.</p>
<p>This quick <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NXh4d4MJOw" target="_blank">video from Water.org</a> shows what it's like to live without a toilet:<object width="800" height="450"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/0NXh4d4MJOw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/0NXh4d4MJOw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="800" height="450" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object></p>
<p>To promote World Toilet Day, the World Health Organization has been tweeting and retweeting toilet pics under the hashtags #WorldToiletDay and #Toilets4All. Here are some good ones we've seen:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>RT <a href="https://twitter.com/tradetoday99">@tradetoday99</a>: indian toilet in slums. <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO">@WHO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WorldToiletDay&amp;src=hash">#WorldToiletDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23toilets4all&amp;src=hash">#toilets4all</a> <a href="http://t.co/K30xaX3S06">pic.twitter.com/K30xaX3S06</a></p>
&mdash; WHO (@WHO) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/statuses/402832164360028160">November 19, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="mce-text/javascript"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>RT <a href="https://twitter.com/carolinee06">@carolinee06</a>: .<a href="https://twitter.com/WHO">@who</a> - The tiniest toilet I've ever seen. On Santorini in Greece. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23worldtoiletday&amp;src=hash">#worldtoiletday</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23toilets4all&amp;src=hash">#toilets4all</a> | <a href="http://t.co/O3vDJ49fBK">http://t.co/O3vDJ49fBK</a></p>
&mdash; WHO (@WHO) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/statuses/402851597178638336">November 19, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="mce-text/javascript"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>RT <a href="https://twitter.com/GCessak">@GCessak</a>: <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO">@WHO</a> Yurt and steppe toilet - On my trip in Mongolia :) <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23WorldToiletDay&amp;src=hash">#WorldToiletDay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Toilets4All&amp;src=hash">#Toilets4All</a> <a href="http://t.co/Us0lO9uU1y">pic.twitter.com/Us0lO9uU1y</a></p>
&mdash; WHO (@WHO) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/statuses/402859480641462273">November 19, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="mce-text/javascript"></script><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/toilet-history-2013-7" >The Evolution Of The Modern Toile</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/world-toilet-day-sanitation-drive-2015-2013-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/an-air-force-wc-130-taking-a-bath-2013-9This Is What It Looks Like When An Air Force WC-130 Takes A Bathhttp://www.businessinsider.com/an-air-force-wc-130-taking-a-bath-2013-9
Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:01:00 -0400Geoffrey Ingersoll
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5241dcd06bb3f77a57ab831d-800-/shower-wc-130-air-force.jpg" border="0" alt="Shower WC-130 Air Force" width="800" /></p><p></p>
<p>The wash rack at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., gives a returning weather reconnaissance WC-130 a cursory wash upon returning from a flight over the (very salty) Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>The "bird bath" takes a full five minutes to taxi through and "uses 10,000 gallons of water per rinse," <a href="http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Then__Now_Wash_Day.html">writes <span>Roger A. Mola of the Air and Space&nbsp;</span>Smithsonian.</a></p>
<p>The bath really only amounts to what we ground folks would call a "PT shower," just a (10,000 gallon) spritzing to get the surface gunk off the bird to prevent corrosion.</p>
<p>The real bath, inside and out, is detailed in a&nbsp;<span>360-page Air Force technical order "<span>that specifies every scour pad, solvent, and means of disposal involved in washing aircraft, categorized by Air Force base."</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>And that's only part of the maintenance required on America's flock of military birds, <a href="http://airman.dodlive.mil/2013/09/wrench-wizards/"><strong>check out a longer report by Randy Roughton of Airmen Magazine here.</strong></a></span></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/an-air-force-wc-130-taking-a-bath-2013-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/4-ways-to-hater-proof-your-home-before-you-list-it-2013-14 Ways to Hater-Proof Your Home, Before You List Ithttp://www.businessinsider.com/4-ways-to-hater-proof-your-home-before-you-list-it-2013-1
Fri, 25 Jan 2013 13:55:53 -0500Tara-Nicholle Nelson
<p><a href="http://images.trulia.com/blogimg/9/6/f/8/382213_1358980744034_o.jpg"></a><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5102aa4deab8ea3e58000012-400-/ken-lewis-house-living-room.jpg" border="0" alt="ken lewis house living room" width="400" />In my experience, there&rsquo;s one fundamental truth about haters: &nbsp;you can never fully escape them.</p>
<p>The only way to live a 100% hater-free life is to never stick your neck out, and never do anything because, as the saying goes, you simply cannot please all of the people all of the time.<br /><br />And this is particularly true with real estate and putting your home on the market &mdash; because homes, locations, aesthetics and such are so much a matter of personal preference, some people will find something to criticize about even the most perfectly staged, priciest properties on the market. &nbsp;<br /><br />As a home seller, your job is not to try to make your home be all things to all people. &nbsp;That said, you don&rsquo;t want to be the house that nearly every buyer and broker sees, rolls their eyes and utters the same few, predictable deal-killing criticisms.</p>
<p>Fortunately, what is predictable is avoidable. Let&rsquo;s explore the most common things buyers hate about listings they see. In the process, you&rsquo;ll get equipped to sidestep those issues and, in large part, hater-proof your own home.<br /><br /><strong>House Hater Complaint #1:</strong> &nbsp;<strong>Odors.</strong></p>
<p>Some of you might think I&rsquo;m beating a dead horse, here. But as long as house hunters keep emailing me to ask why, in the name of all that is sacred, they keep seeing homes that smell like all sorts of madness and mayhem, I&rsquo;m going to keep repeating this message. <br /><br />Viewing a home sounds like it&rsquo;s all about the visual of the experience. And visuals are critical &mdash; your home should be in its Sunday best, so to speak, when it&rsquo;s being shown, in terms of being spruced, staged and clutter-free.</p>
<p>But when a buyer comes to see your home, they don&rsquo;t turn off the rest of their senses. And there is nothing that can turn a buyer off from a home, they&rsquo;d otherwise like, quicker than a powerfully bad odor &mdash; in particular, cigarette and pet odors in a house that seems to have been well-cleaned create the concern that they might be permanent and that the buyer might not be able to get rid of them without dropping some serious cash on cleaning or even removing wall, window and floor coverings.<br /><br />If you are a seller and you know that someone has been habitually smoking in your home or that you have had a &ldquo;challenge,&rdquo; let&rsquo;s say, with pet accidents, do not ignore the problem. And do not think that because you had the carpet shampooed or the drapes cleaned, or because YOU can&rsquo;t smell anything, that the problem is gone. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The fact is that the human sense of smell very quickly gets used to smells that it lives with or is surrounded with on a regular basis. &nbsp;So it&rsquo;s critical to get your agent, stager or even your friends and family members &mdash; who don&rsquo;t live with you and love you enough to be honest! &mdash; to help you detect bad smells and odors, and make sure they are eradicated by any means necessary, before you place your home on the market.<br /><br /><strong>House Hater Complaint #2:</strong> &nbsp;<strong>Glaringly extreme overpricing. </strong></p>
<p><strong></strong>There&rsquo;s the kind of overpricing that makes a buyer say, &ldquo;Hmmm &mdash; seems a bit high. Let&rsquo;s go see it, but we might have to offer a little less than the asking price if we like it.&rdquo; &nbsp;Then there&rsquo;s the kind of overpricing that makes buyer say &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll wait until a price reduction&rdquo; or worse, hold their sides from laughing. <br /><br />When overpricing is glaring, many buyers and buyer&rsquo;s brokers will comment on it or inquire about it. What they are less likely to do is actually come out and see the place &mdash; especially if they weed it out online after comparing its specs to all the other homes in the area and the price range. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Often, homes this severely overpriced simply don&rsquo;t sell, or not until after they&rsquo;ve had some serious price cuts or have been on the market so long buyers begin to feel confident about making lowball offers.<br /><br />In fact, the goal is the opposite &mdash; you want your home to stand out as a property that is not dirt cheap, but does present a good value for the money &mdash; that&rsquo;s what motivates buyers to get out of their chairs and into the property for a viewing.<br /><br />Here&rsquo;s how to hater-proof your home&rsquo;s listing against this issue: fixate on the comps. Smart sellers deactivate their emotional attachment and very human tendency to overvalue their precious homes by poring over the sales prices (not list prices) of similar, nearby homes that have recently sold.</p>
<p>Your agent will be happy to help you walk through this data and will almost certainly recommend a list price, but ultimately you make the decision about the price point to list your home at.<br /><br />Also, consider using your broker&rsquo;s first Open House as an additional hater-proof measure: if the agents overwhelmingly comment that they think the home is significantly overpriced, listen.<br /><br /><strong>House Hater Complaint #3:</strong> &nbsp;<strong>Dirt and messes.</strong></p>
<p>Possibly the single largest source of House Hater Complaints I&rsquo;ve ever heard are the dirt, messes, piles and personal belongings that buyers find so distracting, when they walk into a home for a viewing or Open House. Obviously, homes that are filthy from floor to ceiling are fertile fodder for haters, but often those homes are bank-owned or otherwise distressed so that the sellers aren&rsquo;t likely to do much.</p>
<p>&nbsp;What is underestimated is how often even savvy home buyers are distracted (and disgusted) by relatively clean homes that just have a few outstanding messes, like piles of dirty dishes in the sink, piles of dog poo in the yard or even piles of papers, mail, books or clothes lying out in plain view. &nbsp;<br /><br />Will one or two such items ruin the sale of your home? Perhaps not. But a few of them (or more) can certainly distract a buyer enough that they fixate on your messes and, in the process, fail to see what is so great about your property. &nbsp;And as I see it, cleaning up, meticulously, before every single showing is free &mdash; so it makes no sense to even run the risk of turning off a prospective buyer by letting messes get in the way of their ability to visualize themselves and their families flourishing in your home.<br />&nbsp; <br /><strong>House Hater Complaint #4:</strong> &nbsp;<strong>Lots of little malfunctions.</strong> &nbsp;</p>
<p>All of us tend to think our homes are in fantastic condition. &nbsp;After all, you have the furnace maintained regularly, you&rsquo;ve got granite and dual paned windows - maybe you even had the floors refinished or the walls painted in preparation for putting your place on the market. <br /><br />That&rsquo;s all fantastic &mdash; all the non-cosmetic work you&rsquo;ve done to maintain and improve your home should be trumpeted in your marketing materials, and the cosmetic items will (or should) speak for themselves. But here&rsquo;s the thing: buyers who visit your home won&rsquo;t be running your dishwasher or testing the furnace (at least not until inspections). &nbsp;</p>
<p>What they will do &mdash; almost unconsciously - is:<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; flick light and fan switches<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; open or close window coverings, closet, room and entry doors, <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; open and close drawers, cupboards, gates and fences and<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; hold the handrails as they walk up and down the stairs. &nbsp;</p>
<p>They will hear leaky faucets and point out water spots from long-ago repaired leaks, and they will notice (or potentially trip on) uneven exterior tiles, paths and walkways. And even though these items might be vastly less expensive to fix than the roof or sewer line you had replaced, they are much more visible and noticeable to a buyer. &nbsp;</p>
<p>In fact, buyers don&rsquo;t always even know that the little malfunctions and repairs that need doing are little or inexpensive. And when they notice a bunch of these sorts of things in a single property, they can jump to the conclusion that the whole place is rickety. <br /><br />Since these little fixes are inexpensive to make, have them completed before you list, if at all possible. You might even ask your agent to walk through the property with you and to give you a handyperson reference for someone they know works efficiently.<br /><strong><br />Agents and Buyers: </strong>&nbsp;What things have you encountered in multiple listings that make you cringe, eye roll or otherwise immediately dismiss a house?<br /><br /><strong>ALL:</strong>&nbsp; You should follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/trulia?ref=ts" target="_blank">Trulia</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/taranicholle" target="_blank">Tara</a> on Facebook!<br /><br />&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Read more posts on <a href="http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson">Trulia's Real Estate Realist &raquo;</a></strong></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/15-vacation-homes-for-500000-or-less-2013-zillow-1" >15 gorgeous vacation homes for $500,000 or less ></a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/4-ways-to-hater-proof-your-home-before-you-list-it-2013-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/theres-no-proof-that-pubic-lice-are-going-extinct-2013-1There's No Proof That Pubic Lice Are Going Extincthttp://www.businessinsider.com/theres-no-proof-that-pubic-lice-are-going-extinct-2013-1
Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:48:00 -0500Jennifer Welsh
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50f5d867ecad04d06a000004-400-/pthius_pubis_-_crab_louse.jpg" border="0" alt="crab louse pubic lice" width="400" /></p><p>A story from Jason Gale &amp; Shannon Pettypiece at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/bloomberg" class="hidden_link">Bloomberg</a> has been making the rounds this week, with the itch-inducing headline "<a href="http://www.Bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-13/brazilian-bikini-waxes-make-crab-lice-endangered-species-health.html">Brazilian Bikini Waxes Make Crab Lice Endangered Species.</a>"</p>
<p>They say:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Pubic lice, the crab-shaped insects that have dwelled in human groins since the beginning of history, are disappearing. Doctors say bikini waxing may be the reason.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Waning infestations of the bloodsuckers have been linked by doctors to pubic depilation, especially a technique popularized in the 1990s by a Manhattan salon run by seven Brazilian sisters. More than 80 percent of college students in the U.S. remove all or some of their pubic hair -- part of a trend that&rsquo;s increasing in western countries. In Australia, Sydney&rsquo;s main sexual health clinic hasn&rsquo;t seen a woman with pubic lice since 2008 and male cases have fallen 80 percent from about 100 a decade ago.</p>
<p>There's one big problem with their report, though. The Australian data above is just about all the information they have to support their theory that pubic waxing is leading to the decline, and possible extermination of, pubic lice.</p>
<p>Sex and the 405 took a little time to <a href="http://sexandthe405.com/pubic-lice-endangered/">tear apart the lousy Bloomberg analysis</a> today:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The article starts by saying crabs are disappearing, a fact its authors never get around to corroborating. They provide interesting data about one Australian clinic that hasn&rsquo;t seen a case of pubic lice since 2008 but get data from no other clinics. Later they note that crabs can be self-treated with insecticide yet fail to provide further information...</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">... <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2564756/">a letter in the journal <em>Sexually Transmitted Infections</em></a> written in 2006 that suggests there may exist a correlation between decrease of body lice and increasing popularity of genital waxing among patients at the General Infirmary in Leeds, England. <strong>But, as we know, correlation does not equal causation.</strong></p>
<p>Although waxing may be widespread in certain sections of society, there are huge swaths of the world and cultures that can't afford a $50/month personal pube-grooming ritual.</p>
<p>Maybe we will have a bit more detail when the researchers publish their study in May.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/brazilian-bikini-waxes-blamed-for-near-extinction-of-pubic-lice-2013-1" >Brazilian Bikini Waxes Blamed For Near Extinction Of Pubic Lice</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scariest-parasites-in-the-world-2012-6" >10 Parasites That Do Horrifying Things To People And Animals</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/theres-no-proof-that-pubic-lice-are-going-extinct-2013-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/phelps-right-its-ok-to-pee-in-the-pool-2012-12Michael Phelps Was Right — It's OK To Pee In The Poolhttp://www.businessinsider.com/phelps-right-its-ok-to-pee-in-the-pool-2012-12
Fri, 28 Dec 2012 13:46:31 -0500Richard Alleyne and Hannah Furness
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/501c119fecad043b4f000011-400-300/8-3-2012 12-58-59 pm.jpg" border="0" alt="Michael Phelps swim cap Olympics" /></p><p>It may not be what everybody wants to hear but the swimming star Michael Phelps was right when he said it was OK to relieve yourself in the pool, claim scientists.</p>
<p>Phelps, the most successful Olympian ever, caused ripples of concern during London 2012 when he admitted that many swimmers &ldquo;pee in the pool&rdquo; especially during long training sessions.</p>
<p>But he said that it was OK as the chlorine killed any germs.</p>
<p>The revelation may have been slightly distasteful but now scientists have confirmed that at least his facts are right.</p>
<p>Sense About Science (SAS), a charity which aims to dispel commonly held myths, especially those promulgated by celebrities, congratulated him on being scientifically correct.</p>
<p>Stuart Jones, biochemist, said: &ldquo;In fact Michael, urine is essentially sterile so there isn&rsquo;t actually anything to kill in the first place.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Urine is largely just salts and water with moderate amounts of protein and DNA breakdown products.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Chlorine just prevents bacteria from growing in the pool.</p>
<p>&ldquo;So you&rsquo;re basically right, peeing in a swimming pool, even if all swimmers do it simultaneously, has very little impact on the composition of the pool water itself.</p>
<p>&ldquo;An Olympic size pool contains over 2 millions litres of water and a single urination is somewhere in the region of 0.2 litres.</p>
<p>&ldquo;To have any significant effect on the overall composition of the pool water you&rsquo;d need a serious amount of peeing!&rdquo;</p>
<p>Phelp&rsquo;s statement was one of the few accurate statements picked up by SAS during 2012.</p>
<p>Less convincing were claims made by Simon Cowell, who admitted to breathing pure oxygen to reduce tiredness, stress and ageing.</p>
<p>Kay Mitchell, Centre for Altitude Space and Extreme Environment, said far from being good for you it could be damaging.</p>
<p>She said that while it can be seen to help athletes under controlled conditions to make quicker recoveries more research was needed to confirm this effect.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Doctors are also concerned about the damage caused by oxygen levels that are too high,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This oxygen toxicity can cause cell damage leading to cell death, particularly in lungs where oxygen levels are highest, and so breathing pure oxygen can cause collapse of lung air sacs.</p>
<p>&ldquo;This could make you susceptible to lung infections.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Last year celebrities who extolled the virtues of detoxing and cleansing were also slammed by scientists.</p>
<p>Among them, Gwyneth Paltrow wrote on her blog Goop: "I have gooped about Dr Alejandro Junger's Clean programme before because it gave me such spectacular results; it is really just the thing if you are in need of a good detox &ndash; wanting some mental clarity and to drop a few pounds ... Here's to a happy liver and an amazing 2011!"</p>
<p>Dr Christian Jessen, a GP and TV presenter said that, though everyone tried to start the New Year with good intentions for a healthy lifestyle, a detox plan was not the answer.</p>
<p>"Your body has its own fantastic detox system already in place in the shape of your liver and kidneys. Much better to drink plenty of water, eat a balanced diet, get plenty of sleep, and let your body do what it does best."</p>
<p>Tracey Brown, managing director at SAS, said there was no excuse for celebrities promoting fad diets and treatments.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Celebrity comments travel far and fast, so it is important that they talk sense about issues like dangerous dieting and medical treatments,&rdquo; she said.</p>
<p><img class="nc_pixel" src="http://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT0zMWRlM2JkYWM3MTAyMjUzZTQyM2JhMjRjMGZiMGUyYiZvd25lcj1hZWE2NjI4NzUzY2RjZGMzMjhkOTkzM2MwZTIwZDU4YyZub25jZT1iYjg2Y2QwZi04ZjdjLTRhMjctYjQyYi1mZTc2NTEwMWIxZmImcHVibGlzaGVyPThjMDBmYmVlNjFkNWJjZjBjNjA5MmQ4YjkyZWJiY2Ex" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/phelps-right-its-ok-to-pee-in-the-pool-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/roomba-790-review-2012-7I'm In Love With The Robot That Cleans My House (IRBT)http://www.businessinsider.com/roomba-790-review-2012-7
Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:02:00 -0400Dylan Love
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/500d8c11ecad04a013000002-402-299/roomba.jpg" border="0" alt="roomba" width="402" height="299" /></p><p>Last week, sitting at my desk in our office at 4:15 PM, I elbowed one of my colleagues and told him, "I've had a robot vacuuming my apartment for the last fifteen minutes."</p>
<p>My colleague groaned because I've been testing iRobot's Roomba 790 for five days.</p>
<p>For schlubs like me who would rather eat nachos than vacuum the floor, there's cause for celebration in the Roomba 790.</p>
<p>If you're unfamiliar, Roomba is iRobot's line of vacuuming robots, and every afternoon at 4 PM, mine is scheduled to zoom to life and clean my entire floor. It's Rosie, the robot maid from <em>The Jetsons</em>, realized in real life.</p>
<p>Before we dig in, you should know the price is steep. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmXvCPWbnAw&amp;feature=related">The Roomba 790 retails for $700</a>. A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hoover-WindTunnel-Anniversary-Self-Propelled-U6485900/dp/B0016NP14A/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1343055022&amp;sr=1-3&amp;keywords=hoover+windtunnel">top rated upright vacuum cleaner</a> sells for less than $200 on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/amazon" class="hidden_link">Amazon</a>.</p>
<p>But no one has ever bragged to a friend about their killer upright vaccum cleaner. It isn't a robot dedicated to making your life easier.</p>
<p>If you're still intrigued, then keep reading.</p>
<h2>Features</h2>
<p>The 790 model is iRobot's latest and greatest, offering a wireless remote control for scheduling automated cleanups and steering the Roomba manually.</p>
<p>That's right -- you can schedule your Roomba to clean your house at any specified time. While you sleep, while you're at work, whenever.</p>
<p>The wireless steering feature feels right at home here, offering the best way to navigate your Roomba into tight nooks and crannies and for discovering new venues in cat terrorism.</p>
<p>You'll also want to use the "spot" feature. Set the Roomba in the center of an especially dirty area, press the "spot" button, and watch it perform a concentrated cleaning in a small space.</p>
<p>Do you have rugs in your house? Never fear -- Roomba is smart enough to transition from floor to rug and will even clean a little deeper to get rid of whatever dirt and dust is trapped inside.</p>
<p>All of these were excellent features, but my favorite one of all is that Roomba will navigate itself to its docking station when it's completed vacuuming your house, meaning that it's out of the way, charging back up, and ready for the next cleaning session.</p>
<h2>Performance</h2>
<p>Okay, it's a magic wireless robot vacuum, but how well does it actually clean?</p>
<p>In my very non-scientific study, I'd say it performed well above-average. My house was noticeably cleaner after using it, and the proof is in the dustbin.</p>
<p>I have Roomba scheduled to clean once a day. My reasoning is that seven above-average cleanings a week (that I don't have to do) are much better than one intensive handheld vacuuming operation per week.</p>
<p>You'll became more aware of objects left on the floor. I knew that if I wanted the Roomba to vacuum all of my space, the floor needed to be a clear as possible. Suddenly my shoes were going into the closet instead of the middle of the living room. Any stray wires or chargers were wrapped up or put in drawers when not in use. So my personal testimony is that Roomba will change your habits for the better.</p>
<h2>Maintenance</h2>
<p>All of this automated delight comes with one caveat -- you need to take care of your new device. Empty the dustbin after each session. Use the included brushes to comb stray dirt out of its bristles. Keep an eye on the side brush and replace it if starts to look a little frail.</p>
<p>For all the Roomba does for you, can't you do this little bit for your Roomba? You can. I probably spent five minutes maintaining it after each cleaning.</p>
<h2>Should you buy it?</h2>
<p>Do you want to get rid of one of your chores forever? Then get a Roomba. Do you want a vacuum that will get your floor spotless beyond reproach every time? Then you need an old-fashioned manual vacuum.</p>
<p>As for me, I'll let the Roomba do its thing while I eat my nachos.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/roomba-790-review-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/beijing-public-bathrooms-can-now-have-no-more-than-two-flies-according-to-new-rules-2012-5Beijing Public Bathrooms Can Now Have No More Than Two Flies, Say New Ruleshttp://www.businessinsider.com/beijing-public-bathrooms-can-now-have-no-more-than-two-flies-according-to-new-rules-2012-5
Wed, 23 May 2012 19:18:12 -0400Stacey Leasca
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4fbcff446bb3f72e32000000/portable-toilet.jpg" border="0" alt="portable-toilet" /></p><p>Authorities in Beijing have set a new standard for public toilets called the "two fly rule."</p>
<p>The Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment (BMCCAE) issued the new standard for public toilet management on Monday, making a series of criteria to offer a better environment for public toilets in parks, tourist areas, subway and train stations, hospitals, shopping centers and supermarkets,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/23/content_15365608.htm">according to China Daily.&nbsp;</a></p>
<p>The name is exactly what it implies: No toilet in a public place should contain more than two flies.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-18170693">The BBC reported</a>&nbsp;the rules set new standards on odor and cleaning litter bins. The ordinance covered "discarded items" saying there should be no more than two in any public toilet, and specified that each toilet must be easily accessible to the elderly and disabled.</p>
<p>The new standards also require signs in both Chinese and English to be installed in the toilets.</p>
<p>Beijing's Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bjmac.gov.cn/pub/guanwei/A/A1/201205/t20120521_25767.html">said in a statement on their website</a>&nbsp;that the regulations aimed to standardize toilet management at public places.</p>
<p>The new regulations are similar to the ones in place during the 2008 Summer Olympics when Beijing mandated rules on discarded items and rules on accessibility,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bjnews.com.cn/opinion/2012/05/23/200612.html">according to BJNews.com.cn</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>BJNews also noted that there has been a marked improvement in toilet cleanliness in Beijing in recent years. They reported that toilets now have a lot of internal bright, good ventilation and better dryer placement. &nbsp;</p>
<p>The new regulations set forth aim to improve those public restrooms that are still unsatisfactory, and also to educate the public on clean bathroom habits.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It is not clear if failing washrooms will be punished and if so, how.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/beijing-public-bathrooms-can-now-have-no-more-than-two-flies-according-to-new-rules-2012-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/5-ways-to-reuse-your-dryer-sheets-2012-55 Ways To Reuse Your Dryer Sheets And Clean Up Your Act http://www.businessinsider.com/5-ways-to-reuse-your-dryer-sheets-2012-5
Tue, 22 May 2012 09:02:00 -0400Emily Co
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4fbb8e10eab8ea290e00000c/washing-machine-laundry-chores.jpg" border="0" alt="washing machine, laundry, chores " /></p><p>I find it such a waste to throw away products you only use once, so I'm always looking for ways to recycle them.</p>
<p>A used dryer sheet is actually a really versatile product with a ton of different applications, so don't throw it away after the dry cycle is up!</p>
<p>Recycle your dryer sheets in these ways:</p>
<p>&bull; <strong>Freshen your suitcase:</strong> Leave a dryer sheet in your suitcase when you're traveling so it'll stay fresh and smell it too.<br /> &bull;<strong> Reduce static cling:</strong> Get rid of static cling by rubbing dryer sheets on the problem areas.<br /> &bull; <strong>Clean irons:</strong> Rub the iron on the dryer sheet while the heat is set to low, and the sheet will clean the residue off the plate.<br /> &bull; <strong>Remove pet and human hair:</strong> Run the dryer sheet over fabrics with a lot of fur or hair on them, such as clothing or furniture.<br /> &bull; <strong>Clean bathroom gunk:</strong> If it's time to clean your bath or shower, then grab a dryer sheet for scrubbing. Apparently, dryer sheets help to keep showers and baths free of mineral buildup, so they serve the dual function of cleaning and protecting!</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/two-women-in-need-of-a-financial-makeover-2012-5" target="_blank">Don't miss: Two women in desperate need of a financial makeover &gt;&nbsp;</a></h3><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/5-ways-to-reuse-your-dryer-sheets-2012-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/2-easy-strategies-to-declutter-your-home-2012-42 Easy Strategies To Declutter Your Home http://www.businessinsider.com/2-easy-strategies-to-declutter-your-home-2012-4
Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:44:50 -0400Emily Co
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f9eedcaeab8ead93e000004/closet-organizer-housecleaning-clutter.jpg" border="0" alt="closet, organizer, housecleaning, clutter" /></p><p>It might be overwhelming to just look at your clutter, but there are some very simple steps you can take to declutter your place in no time. All you need to do is just start.</p>
<p>SavvySugar talked to Peter Walsh, a celebrity organization expert, who gave two very simple tips to start tackling your mess:</p>
<p><strong>The trash bag technique:</strong> "The very first thing you should do if you're feeling overwhelmed in your space is to set aside 10 minutes a day. This is how you start," Walsh says.</p>
<p>Give everyone in your household two trash bags and have them fill them up during that 10-minute window every day. Fill one up with things to trash and the other up with things to donate or sell.</p>
<p>If you live with someone else and the two of you use this simple technique for one week, you'll end up with 14 bags of trash and 14 bags of stuff going to donation at the end of the week.</p>
<p>"That's a really simple technique &mdash; 10 minutes a day that will make a massive change," he says.</p>
<p><strong>Back-to-front clothes:</strong> Walsh says we all wear "20 percent of [our] clothes 80 percent of the time." The best way to check what you don't need is to use the back-to-front method.</p>
<p>Turn the clothes that are hanging in your closet so that the hangers are facing back to front or the other way around.</p>
<p>For the next six months, every time you wear a piece of clothing, hang it back up the correct way.</p>
<p>"At the end of six months, whatever is still hanging back to front, chances are you are never going to wear. Send it off to Good Will.</p>
<h3><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/15-surprising-things-you-can-do-with-a-lemon-2012-4#comments" target="_blank">Now see 15 surprising things you can do with a lemon &gt;&nbsp;</a></h3><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2-easy-strategies-to-declutter-your-home-2012-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/your-ultimate-spring-cleaning-guide-what-to-sell-donate-or-trash-2012-2What To Sell, Donate, Or Trash When Spring Cleaning http://www.businessinsider.com/your-ultimate-spring-cleaning-guide-what-to-sell-donate-or-trash-2012-2
Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:45:09 -0500Dinks Finance
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f4e55446bb3f7bf39000002-400-300/cleaning-clean-sweep-trash-junk-work-community-service.jpg" border="0" alt="cleaning-clean-sweep-trash-junk-work-community-service" width="400" height="300" /></p><p>Welcome into March DINKS.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s time for the snow to stop and the sun to start shining.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s also time for spring cleaning.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Every year around this time people start to clean out their closets, their cupboards, their drawers, and their shelves.&nbsp; Very often we see posts from financial bloggers about making extra money by selling our stuff and getting rid of our unwanted items.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Unfortunately not everything can be sold; but we don&rsquo;t have to throw out all of our unsellable items, we can donate them to local charities and organizations.</p>
<p>If we are <a href="http://www.dinksfinance.com/2011/07/dont-throw-that-away-recycle-it/">cleaning out</a> our closets and getting rid of unwanted items we can donate some of our unsellable items in order to help those less fortunate people who are in need.&nbsp; Think about the last time you cleaned out your home during your spring cleaning frenzy.&nbsp; What items did you keep, which items did you sell, which items did you donate, and what did you throw away?</p>
<h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Sell Your Unwanted Items</span></h3>
<p>Many people&rsquo;s first instinct is to sell their unwanted items.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s definitely a great financial strategy to sell our unwanted items because we can get rid of our stuff and make some money at the same time.&nbsp; <a href="http://manvsdebt.com/">Adam Baker</a> &nbsp;at Man vs. Debt has created an entire lifestyle from the belief that people should &ldquo;Sell your crap, pay off your debt, and do what you love.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s true that one man&rsquo;s trash is another man&rsquo;s treasure. So gather up your unused and unwanted items and sell them.&nbsp; As a rule of thumb if we haven&rsquo;t used an item in 6 months and we haven&rsquo;t worn an article of clothing in the last 3 months (or during the last season) then we should get rid of them.</p>
<p>We can sell old Furniture, Toys, previously read Books, unwanted Home Decor, big ticket Electronics like Stereos, DVD Players, Telephones, TVs, and Appliances.&nbsp; We can post our ads online to sell our unwanted and unused items or we can visit thrift shops and second hand stores to sell our items.</p>
<h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Which Items You Can Donate</span></h3>
<p>There are several different organizations and charities who accept donations.&nbsp; Last spring when I cleaned out my entire apartment (thanks to a few sleepless nights and a little bit of OCD) I had over 10 boxes of clothes, books, and computer equipment that I wanted to donate.&nbsp; The problem that I kept running into was not that charities would not accept my items; the problem was that they would not come to pick up the boxes.&nbsp; Charities such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Diabetes Society, as well as The Boys and Girls Club accept donations.</p>
<p>If you don&rsquo;t have any unused items that you can donate to a charity or organization we can also donate food, and money, as well as our personal time.&nbsp; If we have books that we want to donate we can visit our local library or our local daycare, school, or bookstore to donate unwanted books.</p>
<h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Throw This Stuff Away</span></h3>
<p>Basically if you don&rsquo;t want it and you can&rsquo;t sell it or you can&rsquo;t donate it then you have no choice but to throw it away.&nbsp; I know that it can be hard to part with some of our beloved items, but we have to do so because we don&rsquo;t want to become hoarders of unwanted items.</p>
<p>Whenever we throw away large amounts of items we have to make sure that they are clearly marked and packaged correctly. Some items (such as broken electronics) require special disposal.</p>
<p><em>This <a href="http://www.dinksfinance.com/2012/02/spring-cleaning-what-to-sell-what-to-donate-and-what-to-throw-away/" target="_blank">post</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.dinksfinance.com/2012/02/spring-cleaning-what-to-sell-what-to-donate-and-what-to-throw-away/" target="_blank">Dinks Finance</a>.</em></p>
<h2><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/keep-toss-or-shred-heres-how-to-get-a-headstart-on-your-financial-spring-cleaning-2012-1#save-credit-card-offers-1">Now get started on your financial spring cleaning: What to keep, toss or shred &gt; </a></h2><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/your-ultimate-spring-cleaning-guide-what-to-sell-donate-or-trash-2012-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/why-men-are-way-cleaner-than-women-2012-2INFOGRAPHIC: Why Men Are Way Cleaner Than Womenhttp://www.businessinsider.com/why-men-are-way-cleaner-than-women-2012-2
Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:15:00 -0500Now Sourcing
<p><em><a href="http://www.keepingitkleen.com/" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>.</em></p>
<p><em></em><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4f340c5469beddab59000034/dirty-date.jpg" border="0" alt="Dirty Date" /></p>
<p><em>This <a href="http://www.keepingitkleen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/dirty-valentine-infographic.html" target="_blank">post</a> originally appeared at <a href="http://www.keepingitkleen.com/" target="_blank">Keeping It Kleen</a>.&nbsp;<em>Created by&nbsp;<a href="http://nowsourcing.com/" target="_blank">nowsourcing.com</a>.</em></em></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-men-are-way-cleaner-than-women-2012-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>